LAist Interview: Russell Mael of Sparks

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Photo of Ron (foreground) and Russell Mael courtesy of Republic Media

Since their emergence at the beginning of the 1970s, Sparks has been an outsider act. But while commercial success has only struck a handful of times in the course of their twenty-one albums, everyone who grew up during that time seems to know who they are. There’s something about the sight of Ron Mael, the sinister, Chaplinesque accountant stoically rocking out behind the keyboard, that once seen is not easily forgotten. Of all the musicians in the world Paul McCartney could have picked to impersonate in his all-star band for the 1980 Coming Up video, Mael not only made the cut, his Fab doppelganger is easily the funniest and most memorable in the clip. When guys who used to be in the Beatles are making fun of you, you've made it.

Accompanied by his brother Russell on vocals, a prancer with a high falsetto and a penchant for motormouthing like a modern major general, they’ve always stood out. Had they ever been part of any particular “movement” within rock, it’s hard to imagine what on earth the other bands would have been like. The albums produced in their mid-seventies peak sound like musical comedy as adapted for the glam era, with burly guitars, cryptic/ funny lyrics worthy of Steely Dan and a relentless, over-caffeinated energy.

Fans of the very peculiar thing they do will be gathering en masse at UCLA’s Royce Hall this Saturday, as the band will be making one of their relatively rare LA appearances. They’ll be doing their new album, Exotic Creatures Of The Deep, in its entirety, which is no surprise as they’ve done the same thing for each of their last three albums in 2000, 2004 and 2006 respectively. Clearly, this is a group that takes context very seriously.

What is unusual, however, is that they’ll also be playing the complete album widely considered to be their masterpiece, 1974’s Kimono My House. While not totally unprecedented - the band did complete a staggering twenty-one show run in London featuring each of their albums in chronological order last year, besides having revived it for Morrissey's curation of the Meltdown Festival in 2004 - this could be the only time they’ll ever do it in the States. So if a revved-up Amateur Hour sounds like just the thing to put you in the mood to practice up for Valentine’s Day, we suggest you have a sick sense of humor but still advise attending.

Russell Mael spoke to LAist via email this week, about the recent London run, what’s in store for next weekend and hints at the possibility of actual musical theater in Sparks' future.

You guys seem to have caught a significant second wind in about the last ten years. What do you attribute this to?

Not wanting to accept the status quo of pop music in it's current state. We fight desperately hard to do work that doesn't sound as though it's coming from a band who has twenty-one albums in their repertoire. We took a deep breath before starting (their 2000 release) Lil' Beethoven and haven't yet exhaled.

What was the biggest challenge you had to face during the London run last year?

The biggest challenge was the entire event. Learning twenty-one albums of material and only having the opportunity to perform each album once was a daunting task. With a normal tour a group has time to break in the material, but in this case, each night's performance was the one and only performance so it had to be right.

Which of the albums did you find the most fun to perform?

Some of the more obscure albums were the most fun since we had fewer expectations. We particularly liked the Introducing Sparks night. The album has often been glossed over but I think anyone who was at that night's show would agree that it may have been the highlight of the twenty-one nights.

At the risk of sounding greedy, is there any possibility of a Propaganda set being played in LA?

At present there are no plans. But if UCLA goes as well as everyone is expecting, maybe we will get the opportunity to expand on the concept.

Any plans for a Broadway musical featuring your songs? Those albums are filled with such unsavory characters, it seems like you have the makings of a good melodrama in every album, especially the mid-70s ones.

If someone would like to take that concept and go with it, we'd probably enjoy seeing it happen. From our perspective, we'd be more interested in creating a musical based on completely new material.

Have any older, unreleased songs shown up on the recent albums?

The Japanese record label Imperial will be re-issuing on February 22nd six of our albums on super high fidelity masters with three bonus tracks on each album, most of which were demos that never saw the light of day. The albums are No. 1 In Heaven, Terminal Jive, Angst In My Pants, Whomp That Sucker, Introducing Sparks, and Sparks In Outer Space.

Can you reveal the lineup that will be playing at UCLA?

Jim Wilson and Marcus Blake, guitars; Steve McDonald, bass. Steven Nistor, drums.

Were you familiar with Morrissey's work before the Meltdown Festival invitation?

Of course. We liked the Smiths.

Is he personally in need of lightening up as much as his songs would suggest?

Our song, Lighten Up Morrissey is a relationship song about a guy wishing out loud that Morrissey would relinquish some of his core values in order that the guy's girlfriend will better respect him rather than constantly wishing she were with her idol Morrissey. Morrissey only needs to lighten up in the eyes of our song's character.

Name one thing about Los Angeles you like to show people when they come to town.

The blue sky in February.

Sparks performs Exotic Creatures of the Deep and Kimono My House at UCLA’s Royce Hall (340 Royce Drive) on Saturday, February 14 at 8:00 PM. Tickets, $40.00 and $30.00, at Ticketmaster or phone 310-825-2101.